Device for use in removing lasts from shoes



Jan. 14, 1941. R S R S 2,228,444

DEVICE FOR USE IN REMOVING LASTS FROM SHOES Filed April 4, 1940 4 //V VE/V TUQ 9.5. 6/4044.

Patented Jan. 14, 1941 PATENT OFFICE DEVICE rortUsE IN rtE'MovfNG LAs'rs FROM SHOES Garrett P. S; Cross; Beverly, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application April'4', 1940, Serial N0.32'7,88 8

8' Claims.

This invention relates to a device for use in removing lasts from shoes and is herein illustrated and described as embodied in a device suitable for use in operations upon separable two part lasts of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,085,148, granted June 29, 1937, upon my application. Such lasts consist of forepart and heel sections disengageably locked together by a pair of plates securely fixed in the respective 10 sections. The heel end of such a last may readily be removed from a shoe by the use of the machine disclosed in a co-pending application Serial No. 327,889 for the United States Letters Patent, filed of even date herewith in my name. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for facilitating the removal from a shoe of the forepart of a last of the type under consideration. In accordance with a feature of the invention, the illustrated device is provided With a' hook for engaging the locking plate of the last forepart to hold the last forepart while the shoe is being pulled therefrom, the hook being carrie'dby a support having a slot to receive the locking plate'and to hold the same against lateral displacement from the hook. As shown herein, the device may also be provided with a springpre'ssed latch for holding the locking plate in engagement with the hook, the latch being read- 30 ily yieldable to enable the plate to be disengaged from the hook upon movement in a direction other than that in which the shoe is pulled. The illustrated hook is arranged to enter into interlocking engagement with the locking plate to 5 prevent accidental disengagement, and a wedge is provided against which the latch presses a portion of the locking plate to urge the plate into such interlocking engagement with the hook.

These and other features of the invention com- 40 prising certain combinations and arrangements of parts will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing, in which' Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section; 5 showing the device in operative relation to a lasted shoe, and

Fig; 2 is a front elevation of the device. The supporting structure of the device, illustrated herein, comprises a post in adapted to be 50 securely anchored upon a work bench. Upon the upper portion of the post It is a head [2 in'which is formed a slot I4 of sufficient width to receive the end of a locking plate 16 secured in the forepart of a last L. Securely fixed tothe head 12 by a pair of pins l8, and extending partly within and partly without the slot Hi,- is an abutiient 20 in the form of a plate which fillsthewidthof the slot I4. 'Formed in the abutment 2i! is a relatively shallow elongated recess 22 shaped toen 5 gage an extension 24 of the locking plate l6. The abutment 20 has a terminal portion 26 extending outside of the slot [4' and located'adjacent to an end of the recesszz, this terminal portion 'being' in the form of a hook to interlock at a locality 10 desighated by the" reference character 28' with an end or the extension 24 to pr'eVeht direct withdrawal of that end o'f'the extension from the recess 22'. The opposite end of the recess 22 has an inclined bearing" surface 30' which acts as a 5 wedge, when the adjacentrounded end (indicated by the numeral 3|) of the extension 24 is pressed against it, to maintain the opposite end of the extension interlocking engagement the hook 26. The locking mechanis niof thelast 20 provided with a spring 2-9'which playsno part in the present operation. t H

Within the slot l4 Ind pivotally mounted upon a pin 32; secured in the head I2 is a latch 34; engageable with the outer surface of the end 3| of the extension 24 to hold the extension within the recess. Interposed between the latch- 34 and the plate 20; with its ends seated in recesses formed in thelatch and the plate, is a compression spring 36 which acts upon the latch 34 to cause the latch yieldingly to hold" the locking plate IS in' interlocking engagement with the abutment 20 as above described.

In removing theforep'art of the last L from a shoes the operator first engages the extension 24 of the locking plate" within the recess by insert ing the forward end 3"l"of the extension between the latch 34 and the" bearing surface 30'. The spring 3Byields top'ermit such insertion and the operator tilts the shoe" and last slightly upward 40 to m'ovethe interlocking surfaceo'f theextensiori 24' past the locality indicated bythe numerar 28'; whereupon the pressure exerted by the latch through the rounded end 31 of the" extension against theweclge' surface" 30 causes the exten sion to snap into interlocking engagement with the hook 26. The last is' thus held" positively against the pull of the operator in withdrawing the shoe. Thelast-furthermore is held positively against disengagement by downward" pressure which the operator is likely to exert upon the shoe bottom, inasmuch 'as' such pressure tends'to swing the shoe and last downwardly about the hook 26 as'a fu1crum,thereby'pressing' the rounded' end 31 more forcibly against the wedge surface 30 and increasing the effectiveness of the interlock at 28. The natural movements of the operator in pulling the shoe thus serve to hold the last all the more firmly interlocked with the hook, and the walls of the slot I4 hold the last against lateral displacement from the hook while the operator twists the shoe as conditions may sometimes require. After the shoe has been withdrawn the last may be disengaged by upward tilting about the hook as a fulcrum. The spring 36 yields to permit such tilting, and since the rounded end 3| is thus moved away from the Wedge surface 30 the operator can slide the extension 24 in the recess 22 far enough to disengage the interlock at 28, freeing the last from the device.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A device for use in removing lasts from shoes, comprising a hook adapted to engage a plate carried by a last and thereby to hold the last while the shoe is being pulled therefrom, and a member having a slot to receive the plate of the last and to hold the plate against lateral displacement from said hook.

2. A device for use in removing lasts from shoes, comprising a hook adapted to engage a plate carried by a last and to hold the last against the direct pull of the operator in withdrawing the shoe from the last, and resilient means for holding the plate of the last in said interlocking engagement, said resilient means being yieldable to enable the plate to be disengaged from the hook upon movement in a direction other than that in which the shoe is pulled.

3. A device for removing lasts from shoes, comprising a support having a slot formed therein to receive a plate carried by a last, a hook carried by said support and adapted to enter into interlocking engagement with the plate to hold the last positively against the pull of the operator in withdrawing the shoe from the last, said slot serving to prevent lateral displacement of the plate from the hook, and means comprising a spring-pressed latch for holding the plate of the last in said interlocking engagement, said latch being yieldable to enable the plate to be disengaged from the hook upon movement in a direction other than that in which the shoe is pulled.

4. A device for removing lasts from shoes, comprising a support having a slot formed therein to receive a plate carried by a last, a hook carried by said support and adapted to enter into interlocking engagement with the plate to hold the last positively against the pull of the operator in withdrawing the shoe from the last, said slot serving to prevent lateral displacement of the plate from the hook, a wedge, and a spring-pressed latch for pressing the plate against the wedge, the wedge being arranged to cause the pressure of the latch to urge the plate into said interlocking engagement, and said latch being yieldable to enable the plate to be disengaged from the hook upon movement in a direction other than that in which the shoe is pulled.

5. A device for use in removing lasts from shoes, comprising an abutment having a relatively shallow elongated recess to engage an extension of a plate carried by a last, said abutment having at one end of said recess a terminal portion in the shape of a hook to interlock with an end of the extension to prevent a direct withdrawal of that end of the extension from the recess, the opposite end of said recess being shaped to exert a wedging action upon the extension of the last plate when the extension is inserted into the recess, which wedging effect urges the extension into interlocking engagement with said hook, whereby the extension can be withdrawn in a plane parallel to the plate only by first swinging the last and plate about the hook-shaped portion of the abutment as a fulcrum to disengage the extension of the plate from the wedging end of the recess, said abutment serving to hold the last against the direct pull of the operator in removing the shoe while enabling the operator subsequently to disengage the last by the swinging movement above referred to.

6. A,device for use in removing lasts from shoes, comprising an abutment having a relatively shallow elongated recess to engage an extension of a plate carried by a last, said abutment having at one end of said recess a terminal portion in the shape of a hook to interlock with an end of the extension to prevent a direct withdrawal of that end of the extension from the recess, the opposite end of said recess being shaped to exert a wedging action upon the extension of the last plate when the extension is inserted in the recess, which wedging effect urges the extension into interlocking engagement with said hook, whereby the extension can be withdrawn in a plane parallel to the plate only by first swinging the last and plate about the hook-shaped portion of the abutment as a fulcrum to disengage the extension of the plate from the wedging end of the recess, a latch engageable with the end of the extension adjacent to the wedging end of the recess, and a spring acting upon said latch to urge said end of said extension yieldingly against said wedging end of the recess, said device serving to hold the last against the direct pull of the operator in removing the shoe while enabling the operator subsequently to disengage the last by swinging the last in opposition to said spring in the manner above referred to.

'7. A device for use in removing lasts from shoes, comprising a securely anchored stationary member having a slot to receive a portion of a plate carried by a last, the walls of the slot serving to hold the last against lateral movement, an abutment partly within said slot and rigidly secured to said stationary member, said abutment having a relatively shallow elongated recess to engage an extension of said plate, said abutment having at one end of said recess and extending outside of said slot a terminal portion in the shape of a hook to interlock with an end of the extension to prevent a direct withdrawal of that end of the extension from the recess, the opposite end of said recess being shaped to exert a wedging action upon the extension of the last plate when the extension is inserted in the recess, which wedging efiect urges the extension into interlocking engagement with said hook, whereby the extension can be withdrawn only by first swinging the last and plate about the hook-shaped portion of the abutment as a fulcrum to disengage the extension of the plate from the wedging end of the recess, said abutment serving to hold the last against the direct pull of the operator in removing the shoe while enabling the operator subsequently to disengage the last by the swinging movement above referred to.

8. A device for use in removing lasts from shoes, comprising a securely anchored stationary member having a slot to receive a portion of a plate carried by a last, the walls of the slot serving to hold the last aganst lateral movement, an abutment partly wthin said slot and rigidly secured to said stationary member, said abutment having a relatively shallow elongated recess to engage an extension of said plate, said abutment having at one end of said recess and extending outside of said slot a terminal portion in the shape of a hook to interlock with an end of the extension to prevent a direct withdrawal of that end of the extension from the recess, the opposite end of said recess being shaped to exert a wedging action upon the extension of the last plate when the extension is inserted in the recess, which wedging efiect urges the extension into interlocking engagement with said hook, whereby the extension can be withdrawn only by first swinging the last and plate about the hook-shaped portion of the abutment as a fulcrum to disengage the extension of the plate from the wedging end of the recess, a latch engageable with the end of the extension adjacent to the wedging end of the recess, and a spring acting upon said latch to urge said end of said extension yieldingly against said wedging end of the recess, said device serving to hold the last against the direct pull of the operator in removingthe shoe while enabling the operator subsequently to disengage the last by swinging the last in opposition to said spring in the manner above referred to.

GARRETT P. S. CROSS. 

